Gateway Streetshttp://www.gatewaystreets.org
Transportation issues in the Gateway CityThu, 21 Jul 2016 04:57:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Not All Grade Separated Intersections Are Bad: An Idea for Kingshighway and Forest Park Parkwayhttp://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/grade-separated-intersections-not-all-bad
http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/grade-separated-intersections-not-all-bad#respondWed, 08 Jun 2016 13:15:49 +0000http://www.gatewaystreets.org/?p=848With nary a public comment or press release, it appears the City of St. Louis is set to transform the intersection of Kingshighway and Forest Park Parkway to an at-grade intersection. Thanks to significant funding from BJC and Washington University, construction is apparently set to begin as early as next month. All information about this project thus far is courtesy of the always excellent NextSTL. Read their article for all known information regarding the project.

The proposed changes at the intersection of Kingshighway and Forest Park Parkway has many drivers concerned about increased congestion and travel times. Traffic along Kingshighway can be punishing to get through during rush hours, today; bringing the Parkway to the same grade as Kingshighway threatens to make traffic worse and more difficult than it already is.

Of course, one of the main reasons the intersection is being brought to grade is to give vehicles on Kingshighway access to Forest Park Parkway towards Clayton. But is there a way to include this missing movement at the intersection without negatively affecting existing traffic conditions? Here’s one idea I drew up.

So how does this design differ from the standard 4-way intersection? Two things in particular:

Prohibited left turns from eastbound Forest Park Parkway to northbound Kingshighway. Drivers wishing to make this turn would continue to exit at Lindell just as they do today.

It may cost a bit more, but by removing the Parkway’s left-turn movements from the intersection, these two changes allow for the simplification of the traffic signals from a standard 4-phase system to the 3-phase system in place at the intersection today allowing more green time for everyone.

]]>http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/grade-separated-intersections-not-all-bad/feed0Top 25 US Rail-Based Transit Systems of 2015http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/top-25-us-rail-based-transit-systems-of-2015
http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/top-25-us-rail-based-transit-systems-of-2015#respondTue, 12 Apr 2016 04:55:24 +0000http://www.gatewaystreets.org/?p=838Four years ago, St. Louis had the 16th most riders of rail-based transit systems in the United States. By the end of 2015, St. Louis had fallen to 19th in the rankings. As of today, St. Louis is 20th. In 3 years time, St. Louis could be be 22nd which, for all intents and purposes, is rock bottom.

]]>http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/top-25-us-rail-based-transit-systems-of-2015/feed0Cincinnati Metro Transit Imaginedhttp://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/cincinnati-metro-transit-imagined
http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/cincinnati-metro-transit-imagined#respondTue, 02 Feb 2016 08:43:38 +0000http://www.gatewaystreets.org/?p=811Cincinnati, I made a fantasy transit map for your fair city. This fully grade-separated metro-style system has the following characteristics:

6 lines that pair together into 3 trunk lines

92 route miles

111 stations

Also included on the map is a slightly extended streetcar line and commuter rail lines that activate Union Terminal and the Riverfront Transit Center.

Click on the map for a full sized version.

How did I end up creating a fantasy transit map for a city I’ve only visited once before? Curiosity! Curiosity about the subway Cincinnati tried to build 100 years ago and never completed. I began by trying to draw the completed subway alignment in Google Earth… and then just kept on drawing.

Some of the design principles I tried to follow in creating the system shown in the map were:

Try not to duplicate the streetcar’s route.

Follow dense urban corridors and avoid highway alignments as much as possible.

Keep the system geographically compact.

To further emphasize the last point, Cincinnati employment is spectacularly centered in or near downtown, an incredible contrast to St. Louis where jobs continue to migrate westward. Also, density in the Cincinnati metro area seems to decrease dramatically about 10 miles from downtown to the point where the expense and capacity of rail-based transit seems unnecessary and wasteful. Consequently, I mapped few stations further than 10 miles distant from downtown.

]]>http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2016/cincinnati-metro-transit-imagined/feed0Almost Perfect: The New Bike Path Along Leonor K Sullivan Blvdhttp://www.gatewaystreets.org/2015/bike-path-along-lks-blvd
http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2015/bike-path-along-lks-blvd#respondMon, 02 Nov 2015 16:45:36 +0000http://www.gatewaystreets.org/?p=728Progress continues on the reconstruction of Leonor K Sullivan Blvd. Major construction has been completed on the southern half of the street from the Arch to Chouteau Ave. Flooding over the summer stopped construction on the northern half to Cole St for about 2 months and the project is now slated for completion by the end of the year.

Included as part of the reconstruction of Leonor K Sullivan Blvd is a two-way bike path on the east side of the street. The path will extend 1.5 miles end to end and will serve as excellent way to visit the riverfront or bypass downtown.

The best part of the new path is that it’s not another bike lane, rather it’s physically separated from the road by about 5 ft. And thanks to the fact that it parallels the riverfront, there’s no need to stop along the entire length of the path as there are no cross streets, traffic lights, or stop signs along the way. In short, the path is close to ideal.

The only aspect of the bike path that is imperfect are the crossings across the access roads to the riverfront parking. As indicated by signs on the side of the road, cars are supposed to yield to bicyclists and pedestrians. However, there are no pavement markings for cars—yield triangles or zebra stripes—only sidewalk curb ramps and a continuation of the concrete road surface that visually imply pedestrians must yield to cars.

Above: Access to riverfront parking cuts through the trail and sidewalk.Below: How access could have looked with better prioritization for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Ideally, the bike path and sidewalk would be continous, raised, and visually distinct across the parking lot access road. Almost as good would be zebra striping for the sidewalk and green paint for the bike path.

]]>http://www.gatewaystreets.org/2015/bike-path-along-lks-blvd/feed0✜ Bike Lanes on Tower Grove Ave Scrapped in Favor of More Auto TrafficFatal error: Call to undefined function the_format_link_url() in /home/herbie3/gatewaystreets.org/wp-content/themes/parkways/functions.php on line 153